Originally Posted by
tsquare
Hmmm.. moving from California... define cheap.
Originally Posted by
buzzpat
Its gotta be cheap-er. Can't be any more expensive as I sit here upside down on my house and trying to figure a way to pay my property taxes (just shy of political extortion).
There was an article in Forbes recently on the top most expensive counties to live in within the US. Six of the top ten were in NJ. NJ consistently ranks in the top three of property taxes, auto insurance, and state/local taxes. Addtionally, all bridges leaving NJ are now toll. If you plan to commute to NY for LGA or JFK from NJ, you can expect a minimum of $150/month for tolls.
Housing generally isn't as costly as is in California, but the total cost of living in NJ is higher. The FBI a few months back rounded up 60 or so local mayors and city officials from around the entire state and threw them in jail for corruption and other charges. Seriously, when you watch the Sopranos, reality isn't that far off.
Nonetheless, I've lived in the area now since late 1999 and I'm somewhat used to it. I'm waiting to see how the chips fall once SOC hits. I am wanting to move and am really looking into trying to get based in MSP DTW CVG ... maybe ATL.
When I was a Captain living in South Korea, I banked more money in one year than I did in 8 years as a Captain/Major living in NJ. I'm tired of seeing a majority of my hard earned money going to a state where the morals and politics of nearly opposite of myself.
NJ does have a lot of selling points. The best schools in America ... assuming you don't live in the hood. You are close to NYC, PHL, BALT, DC, and BOS. You have the beaches of NJ, DE, and MD close by and Atlantic City for your gambling habit. You have the Pine Barins of NJ and the Poconos of PA and NY for the outdoors in you. And for you Nascar fans, it is probably the only place where you close to three Nascar tracks: Dover, Martinsburg, and Pocono. All of these things are within a 3 hours drive ... traffic dependent.
My two cents.